Artificial electronic skin offers potential advantages in the fields of prosthetic devices and robotics. Attempts to create electronic skin for application in such fields have often included the use of organic semiconductor materials. Organic-based devices have been characterized by relatively high operating voltages because of the defective nature of the organic materials. Advancements in layer transfer technology and printing of inorganic semiconductors has allowed significant decreases in operating voltages associated with electronic skins. Integrated sensor arrays including nanowire-array active components have been proposed for monitoring applied pressure profiles.
Nanowires have been incorporated within microelectrode arrays that include silicon substrates. The nanowires can be grown within open pores by electrochemical deposition or by patterning and etching of silicon substrates. The nanowires in some applications function as electrodes that can be used to apply electrical signals to biological tissue or to receive signals from such tissue.